Osamu Tezuka's Star System - Birth of Adventure
by TheDiscGod0290
Summary: In the far future of 2XXX, mankind revolutionized science and technology with the invention of sentient robots. These robots were created to serve and protect humanity and none better exemplifies these aspects than Astro Boy. However, Astro and his friends Kenichi, Rock and Sam learn that there is more to robots, humans and even the very Earth than they can ever hope to understand.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Astro Boy, The Three-Eyed One, Jungle Emperor or any of the other series in any way shape or form. All associated characters, trademarks, etc. are the property of Osamu Tezuka.

HR

 **Prologue: The Tragedy of Impulsiveness**

It was almost 10:00 pm; Tobio watched the hallway light so intensely that he almost forgot to blink. If his father didn't go to bed soon he would be late. He sighed with relief when he finally saw the light go out and heard the adjacent door close.

Tobio jumped out of bed, fully clothed, grabbed his knapsack and climbed out of his window using the extra sheets he tied in knots. As Tobio drove through the dark streets of Tokyo in his new hover car, he thought back at the bitter argument he and his father had that afternoon.

Dr. Tenma, the Japanese Minister of Science, was an imposing man; he was tall and lean, his thick hair and beard was not so much long as it simply jutted out, his hooked nose tended stick up, especially when "educating" someone or in the presence of those he disagreed with, his eyes were piercing and his voice was a low baritone. That same baritone raised a couple of pitches when he and Tobio argued about the boy's future.

Tenma above all else wanted Tobio to be a scholar, a genius in robotics just like him to carry on the Tenma name in the Ministry of Science. That meant a strict study schedule and staying away from "bad influences", i.e. his friends. However, Tobio would have none of that and told his father that he would sooner jump out a window than give up seeing Ken, Sam and Rock; they were the only boys, in fact the only people, who were not intimidated by Tobio's disapproving father and played with him regularly.

One of their favorite games is 'Private Eye', where they would go around Tokyo pretending to solve crimes like Sherlock Holmes, or even better, Shunsaku Ban. Ken was especially eager to play the lead detective, picking up any random junk he could find and declare it a clue and how in some twisted way it pertained to the case. Tobio would be the inquisitive sidekick, Sam would be the bumbling cop and Rock would play a fellow detective, a rival or even the criminal mastermind.

But this was not enough for Kenichi. Throughout his life, he had dreamed of becoming a real private detective and catching real criminals. He even attempted to personally assist the police in catching the drug ring pushing a new drug, Yellow Horse on unsuspecting children for months but was constantly rebuffed by Inspector Tawashi. He told Kenichi that a nine-year-old would simply get in the way of investigations or get hurt and to bother someone who deserves the headache like Butamo Makeru. This only compelled Kenichi to personally capture the drug dealers in the act and show the long-nosed detective that he had what it takes to be a private eye.

This was why Tobio was driving to the Shinagawa docks to meet the boys. Ken and Rock were able to weasel some info from a young addict about a meeting between the Yellow Horse dealers and a mysterious client. If they could take some pictures of the criminals' faces, they could show them to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force and bust the entire operation. They would be heroes.

Tobio stopped the car when he saw three figures behind a large blue, steel container. It took Tobio a couple of seconds to confirm that they were indeed Ken, Rock and Sam. They waved at him as he gave them the signal by blinking his headlamps, and then parked his hover car in a shadowy corner by some other crates.

"You made it!" exclaimed Kenichi, before covering his mouth with both hands.

Kenichi Shikishima was not so much average looking as resembling a basic cartoon character that a third grader would draw on a blackboard. He had a round head with big, black eyes and well-combed hair that had a curl sticking up in front. He wore a plain, white shirt with a dark colored bow tie, black shorts and shoes.

Despite his uninspired appearance, Kenichi had a kind of charm and exuberant energy that made him hard to say no to, let alone dislike. He was practically bristling with excitement about their very first stakeout. So much so that Rock had to literally hold him by the shoulders to keep him from charging into the light and blowing their cover.

"You're late," said Rock in a hushed tone. Rock Holmes in comparison was quite handsome for his age. His hair was black with a natural sheen that one could swear he used an entire bottle of gel on it and it stuck out underneath his red baker boy hat. His eyes were a deep silver-blue that seemed to sparkle if you look close enough. Rock was wearing a white shirt as well, but instead of a bow tie, he wore a stylish necktie with dark shorts and shoes.

"If you couldn't make it, you should have called. We're counting on you to provide the getaway car you know."

Tobio nodded regretfully. He was the only member of the group that had a hover car and it was vital to the plan in case things went south.

"Sorry," said Tobio. "I had to wait until my dad fell asleep; he was working on a new state of the art robot that could put more emphasis on self-preservation than older models."

"That's no excuse!" Rock chided, still in a hushed tone. "We've been planning this stakeout for a week and if you can't do your part, we're screwed!"

Tobio couldn't look at Rock in the eye. As harsh as it sounded, Rock was absolutely right in that if Tobio couldn't make it, the entire plan would fall apart. Tenma's son practically begged the other boys to let him join in this stakeout and everything was planned to the tee. If anyone couldn't do their part, the results could be disastrous. Tobio was jolted out of his thoughts when he looked around and realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Sharaku?" he asked

"He couldn't sneak out," answered Sam. "Robita caught him before he could take two steps away from his house."

"At least he had the sense to call us afterword to say he couldn't make it," said Rock, shuddering at the thought of what Dr. Saruta was going do to him.

"Hey, come on Rock," said Kenichi, "It's not Tobio's fault that his dad had to work late. He's here now and that all that counts."

Rock's expression softened and Tobio's lit up. Kenichi always knew what to say to diffuse a situation. In any case, Rock reasoned that everyone who absolutely needed to be there was there. Sharaku was eager but odds are he would have been more of a hindrance than a help.

Kenichi gestured everyone to huddle, "Alright do we have everything?"

"You know what I have," said Tobio confidently.

"I have my all purpose watch," said Rock.

"And I have three canteens of milk, nice and cold and ready for action," said Sam.

"Great! And I have the uPhones," said Kenichi. "Now remember, after we split up, stick to the shadows. If you think one of those thugs is getting too close, call. The rest of us will feel the vibration and try to create a distraction. If things look really bad, I've set the speed dial to the police. Sam will then lead us in fighting our way out and we'll make our escape in Tobio's car. Remember, the pictures have to look good before we send them to the police, that means no shadowy faces, no leg shots and no accidentally putting your thumb on the lens." The boys looked directly at Sam who could only shrug his shoulders in embarrassment. "Alright then, break!"

The boys then split up into two groups. Rock and Sam went to the side of the warehouse and slipped in through a basement window while Kenichi and Tobio climbed inside an air duct.

HR

After about a minute of crawling through the duct to get a good view of the criminal's meeting place, Tobio tugged on Kenichi's pant leg.

"Hey Ken," said Tobio.

"Yeah Toby?" answered Kenichi. That was the nickname the boys gave Tenma's son when they first met. He always hated it but didn't have the heart to say anything.

"Do you think we can really fight our way out if those thugs find us?"

"Sure! No doubt about it!" Kenichi replied with one hundred percent confidence.

"But what if they have guns?" asked Tobio, a knot beginning to tighten in his stomach.

"Sam will just barrel on through and we'll follow."

Tobio was starting to doubt that. Sam was the tallest out of all the boys but he didn't look particularly strong. In fact, he looked rather goofy the more Tobio thought about it. Sam was not only tall but lanky as well; he was bow-legged and walked with a gait that you'd see more in a cowboy cartoon than a cowboy movie. In fact, Sam's entire wardrobe seemed to be cowboy inspired: a beige shirt with rolled up sleeves, a black vest over it, dusty, green pants, brown shoes so large that it's a wonder he doesn't trip over his own feet and a red neckerchief. Tobio guessed that the only reason Sam didn't bring his cowboy hat with him tonight was that it would be _too_ conspicuous.

Tobio had also never seen Sam fight before either. Whenever the schoolyard bully, Akashi picked on them, Kenichi would be the one to teach the big lummox a lesson by judo throwing him into a wall.

Tobio was jostled out of his musings when he collided face-first into Kenichi's rump. The would-be detective placed his finger to his lips requesting silence and positioned his body so that Tobio could get a good look out the ventilation grill.

They saw two short flashes of light out of the shadows of a few wooden crates and knew that Rock and Sam were in position. Kenichi took out his own uPhone and made two short flashes of light in response.

Tobio checked his watch; it was almost 11:00 pm. The criminals should be arriving soon. All the boys had to do was wait and everything would come together.

HR

By 11:00 on the dot, the boys heard the warehouse door rattle then open as around a dozen darkly dressed figures slinked into the building. The last figure slammed the door back with a bang, earning him a multitude of hissing sounds from the others.

Kenichi and Tobio then saw the shadows patting each other down, looking through coats and under hats to ensure no one was bugged or wired. After five minutes of this, the figures finally gathered around a medium sized, wooden table and turned on an overhead light.

This was it! Their big chance to capture these scumbags on film. All four boys took out their uPhones and aimed the cameras but were severely disappointed when they saw that not one of the criminals' faces was exposed.

Half of them covered their entire heads with silly looking yellow socks that reminded the boys of Mr. Mustachio's History lessons about the Ku Klux Klan or crooks who wore pantyhose while robbing people. The other half wore broad-brimmed hats that seemed to slump down to their chests. The boys were very close to giving up hope when they heard one of the figures in the broad-brimmed hats speak.

It was a dark voice, deep and gravelly. The kind of voice one would imagine being whispered into their ear before feeling a cold, sharp knife plunging into their back.

"You got the stuff?" the voice asked.

"Right here," replied a different voice. "Ten vials of pure yellow horse. You stick this into someone's arm; they'll be dancing like a circus bear on ecstasy for a couple of hours and then they'll be begging and pleading for more the next morning."

"Hmm," went the dark voice.

"Something wrong, Mr. Kusai?"

"I'll need to test it," he took out a hypodermic needle, extracted a bit of yellow horse and gestured one of his men over. "Hey shorty, stick this in your arm so we can see how long it takes for you to dance."

"Aw boss, not again! I'm still feeling ants under my skin from last time!" whined 'Shorty'.

"You'll be feeling a lot worse if you don't do it!" threatened Kusai.

The short man, knowing that his boss did not make idle threats, reluctantly injected himself with the yellow horse. It took about three seconds for him to start dancing a jig and bouncing around the warehouse like a ballerina, flailing his arms and legs like a puppet on strings.

"Yeah, that's good shit right there," remarked Kusai

"Haven't we always come through for you Skunk?" asked the dealer, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

"Can't take chances in our line of work," replied Skunk Kusai, flicking his hat to reveal his face. He was pale, deathly pale, almost zombie-like. He had stringy, straw colored hair above an extremely unpleasant face. His eyes were melancholic, his nose was round and button shaped, and his mouth was fixed in an almost permanent smirk. He had an overall air of condescension about him that said he could carry on a pleasant conversation with you while he snapped your spine under his boot.

"The Red Eye does not tolerate liars," continued Skunk. "Be straight with us and we'll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. But if you double-cross us by giving us second-rate drugs or squealing to the cops, you know what we'll do to you."

As if on cue, the four darkly dressed men took out their mag guns and pointed them at the yellow horse dealers. What surprised the boys was that the drug dealers didn't even attempt to pull out their own guns. They just stood there like deer caught in headlights.

Tobio recalled hearing that name before, the Red Eye. Why was it so familiar? Realization hit him so hard that he nearly gasped out. The Red Eye is one of the most dangerous international terrorist organizations in the world. Kidnappings, assassinations, and bombings are just the tip of the iceberg for them. Now it seems that he and friends have stumbled onto one of their operations.

Tobio realized they were way out of their depth and needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. He tugged on Kenichi's shirt to get his attention but saw there was no use in that. The other boy was transfixed on the scene in front of them. He was taking pictures every second, making sure to get Skunk's face on at least ten of them. This was the opportunity of a lifetime; not only was he capturing a drug deal on film but also a member of one of the most evil organizations in the world.

The lead drug dealer wrung his hands and said in a piteous voice, "I can assure you, Mr. Kusai, that that couldn't be further from our minds. We know better than to anger the great Duke Red. Why, with our yellow horse, the police will be too distracted to interfere with your plans."

This seemed to placate Skunk and he signaled his men to put away their weapons. "Yes, soon all of Tokyo will be putty in our hands and…"

Kusai was interrupted in his gloating when 'Shorty', still dancing, yelled out, "Hey, I see something in here!"

"Where?!" snarled Skunk.

"Over there!" said 'Shorty', pirouetting in a 360-degree angle.

This was not good! They've spotted Rock and Sam. Kenichi and Tobio had to think of something. Tobio quickly crawled across the length of the vent, making tapping noises loud enough for the criminals to hear but not loud enough for them to think it was from anything large.

Kenichi caught on quickly and made sure to get away from the grill. He then started to make squeaking sounds.

"Ah, it's just some rats," the drug dealer sighed.

"Hmm, maybe," replied Skunk. He then aimed his mag handgun and fired a plasma shot through the vent, eliciting a loud squeak.

"Might be an R.O.U.S," laughed 'Shorty'.

"You know they don't exist," replied another Red Eye operative irritably. "And will you stop kicking me!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! I can't help it! The Music's got me!" said 'Shorty' smiling as he performed the prisyadka.

"There is no music!"

Tobio opened his eyes slowly. He didn't want to think about what Kenichi's head looked like after taking a plasma blast to the skull. He sighed with relief when he saw that the blast missed his friend. Barely.

Kenichi was panting heavily, his eyes fixed at the hole directly above him. If he hadn't been crouching at the time… he tore his eyes away from the hole when he saw Tobio mouthing 'can we go now?'. He nodded his head and was about to follow Tobio back through the vent when he heard a metallic creaking sound. Kenichi looked up at the hole again and saw that before there was a hole there was a screw once. He looked at the other side of the shaft, and saw that the opposing screw was also missing for some reason. The young P.I. had a sinking feeling, both figuratively and very literally.

 _Crash!_

The villains turned sharply as they saw an entire ventilation shaft collapse, sending dust, wood and debris flying in various directions.

"Good going, Skunk," deadpanned one of the drug dealers. "I'm sure half of Tokyo heard that."

Before Kusai could say anything however, they all heard a violent coughing sound from the dusty pile, like that of a child. And lo and behold, there was indeed a scruffy-looking kid coughing and looking around confused and disoriented. When their eyes met, the kid gave a lopsided smile and said, "Well this isn't Los Angeles, I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque."

The criminals were about to rush at the boy when a crate thrown by another boy wearing western-style clothing struck three of them from behind. Two of the drug dealers aimed their guns at the interloper but were quickly disarmed by a third boy wielding a whip. Skunk, snarling with rage, yanked a semi-automatic plasma gun away from one of his own men and was about to blow both of those little brats away when the first boy grabbed him by the arm and tossed him across the room with a judo throw.

"Tobio, quick! Get the police!" yelled Rock.

That's when chaos ensued.

"The cops?!"

"There are cops here?!"

"It was a set up!"

"Let's get outta here!"

"Wait Skunk! It wasn't a set up, I swear!" pleaded the lead drug dealer, grabbing onto Kusai's leg. "You have to believe m…" _Bam!_

The man didn't get to finish as Kusai shot him point blank in the forehead.

Tobio slid out of the vent and asked, "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," replied Sam, wiping some excess milk from his mouth. "They sure hightailed it out of here quick when they heard that we were calling the cops."

"I don't think it's that easy," said Rock.

"Why do say that?" asked Kenichi, dusting the grime off of his clothes.

"Watch this," Rock answered as he placed his baker boy hat on a long plank of wood and dangled it just outside the warehouse entrance.

A barrage of machine gun fire rattled the door and Rock was forced to pull his hat back in. What came back was no longer a hat but a red paper people chain.

"How long did the cops say it would take them to get here?" Ken asked Tobio.

"A half-an-hour," the other boy replied.

"I don't think the guys outside are going to give us a half-an-hour," opined Rock.

"We'll have to go through the basement window," Sam said. "It's the only way."

The other boys agreed and all four slipped through the window and used the metallic crates outside as cover. They could see the remaining criminals a few feet in front of the front door, their weapons at the ready. They quietly piled into the hover car and at Kenichi's prompting; Tobio quickly started it and they sped off the docks.

HR

They did it! They actually did it! They caught everything on film: the Red Eye, the yellow horse dealers, everything! True, they only caught Kusai's exposed face on film and they saw someone get murdered right in front of them, plus Inspector Tawashi was very likely going to give them an earful for risking their lives and that's not even getting into what Dr. Tenma and the matron would do to them when they find out that they snuck out after dark. But that's beside the point. The point is that they were real detectives now and no criminal was safe, not even that ugly degenerate, Skunk Kusai. Who was speeding towards them in a large, black hover car.

They couldn't believe it. Skunk had seen them speed off the docks and was now pursuing them on the highway. The pale man shot a few blasts through his driver's seat window, nearly hitting Sam in the ear, before apparently getting tired of it and decided to ram them. The boys were pitched violently as the Red Eye operative collided with Tobio's hover car again and again, trying to get them to crash into oncoming traffic.

That was when Tobio had an idea. He turned left off the highway and into the express tunnel to the Harajuku Police Station. Express tunnels were one-way and unless Skunk wanted to grate his car on the sides of the tunnel, he would have to stay behind the boys. There was also the bonus of Skunk being forced to follow them as once someone enters the tunnel they can't reverse out unless want a twenty car pileup. This was Tobio's plan to bring Skunk to justice. However, he forgot two important things.

First, Skunk's car was larger and faster than his own. The pale man continued to ram into the boy's car from behind and if he managed to flip it over, all of them were doomed. Tobio stomped on the accelerator in response. If they could just outpace Skunk for even a little while, they would reach safety in no time.

Second, while Skunk was forced to follow behind them as long as they were in the tunnel, that boys also had to stay behind the cars that came before them. They soon saw a hover car ahead of them; coming closer and closer and soon the boys would be sandwiched between an unsuspecting driver and a homicidal criminal. They would have to slow down.

There was only one option left. They had to make a jump for the pedestrian walkways on the sides of the tunnel. They'd most likely get a few broken bones and severe road rash, but that was preferable to being crushed between two cars.

"Alright, we're going to have to time this just right," explained Kenichi. "Soon both of those cars are going to touch us. When that happens we have to slow down. That will be the perfect time to jump. Everyone ready?"

"Ready when you are!" replied Sam.

"This better not leave any permanent scars," quipped Rock.

"I'll keep the car steady while you guys jump," Tobio said. "I'll be right behind you."

The three boys nodded. Just as Kenichi predicted, Skunk rammed Tobio's hover car again, causing it to collide with the vehicle in front of them. This was the window they needed to slow down. Ken, Rock and Sam leapt out of the car and onto both sidewalks, tumbling uncontrollably.

It was Tobio's turn now. He tried to unbuckle his seatbelt but the darn thing was jammed. He pulled and he yanked but the safety belt held him fast. He turned his head and saw the grimacing face of Skunk Kusai before the man rammed into him once more and with such force that they performed a PIT maneuver on the car ahead of them.

The confused driver's car went sideways before flipping on its side as both succeeding cars crashed into it. All three hover cars continued to scrape down the tunnel for a short distance before finally coming to a stop. But this was not the end of the ordeal. More hover cars collided into them, creating a large heap of smoking metal before subsequent drivers realized it would be best to slow down.

HR

Tobio was sore all over. He was lying on the road with frantic voices surrounding him. He opened an eye and saw his father above him; the man's arms looked close and seemed to be at different parts of Tobio's body. He had a distressed look on his face.

Tobio scanned his surroundings and saw paramedics helping the injured into ambulances. He looked around a bit more and saw his friends, who seemed to be crying. Rock's eyes were covered by his right hand and his lip was trembling. Sam was sitting on the sidewalk, his head buried in his arms. Kenichi's expression was the worst; he was on his hands and knees, to the side of Tenma, with tears flowing from his face. Tobio couldn't understand why they seemed so sad. By the look of them, they only received a few scrapes and bruises.

He wanted to call out to them, to tell them that everything was all right but his throat felt dry for some reason and he couldn't make a sound.

Tobio also felt extremely tired. So tired in fact that he felt he could literally drift off into some fantastical slumberland. Tobio closed his eye. He would get a good night's sleep and then he, Ken, Rock and Sam would regale their classmates at school tomorrow with their harrowing adventure. They would finally become the boy heroes they have always dreamed of being. It will be great.

To Be Continued…

HR

Author's Note: Hey guys, this is my first story and I'm pretty new at this so please don't be hesitant to comment on it.

As mentioned above in the disclaimer, this story will feature Astro Boy, Jungle Emperor Leo, and the Three-Eyed One. But it won't just be them; I intend to add characters, storylines and themes from a multitude of Tezuka's works. Characters from Black Jack, Princess Knight, Unico and many, many others will also be in it, including the God of Manga himself from time to time. So here's to hoping you all enjoy it. See ya later!


End file.
